1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing a photoreceptor belt from a printer, more particularly, for cutting the photoreceptor belt by using a cutting blade and automatically removing the photoreceptor belt from the printer in order to replace the photoreceptor belt with a new one.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photoreceptor belt has been used for printing an image on a recordable medium in an electrophotographic printer such as a color laser printer. The image is developed on one side of the photoreceptor belt by a development unit, and then the developed image formed on the photoreceptor belt is transferred to a transfer roller located between the photoreceptor belt and a recordable medium and then printed on the recordable medium such as a sheet of paper.
The photoreceptor belt, however, becomes deteriorated by repeated uses. The degree of accuracy of an image developed thereon is gradually lowered. The longer period of time the photoreceptor belt is used in the printer, the less accurate the developed image on the photoreceptor belt and the less clear the printed image on the recordable medium. Thus, in order to obtain an accurate developed image on the photoreceptor belt and a clear printed image on the printable medium, the photodetector belt should be removed from a belt unit and replaced with a new one after it has been used for a predetermined life time.
In a conventional method, a worn photoreceptorbelt is manually extracted from the belt unit. Manual drawing of the photoreceptor belt from the belt unit, however, is a complicated and time consuming process. Since a manual operation of drawing of the photoreceptor belt from the belt unit is performed in a narrow space where parts of the printer are assembled in a confined space, the hands of an operator may be injured by the parts.
In addition to the photoreceptor belt, a filter cartridge has been used for filtering the inner air within the printer by using a pump for sucking the inner air through the filtering cartridge so that harmful materials contained in the inner air are filtered by the filter cartridge before the inner air is exhausted to the outside of the printer. Since harmful materials contained in the inner air affect on the developed image formed on the photoreceptor belt and prevent the printed image from being clear, the inner air containing the harmful materials should be filtered by the filter cartridge and the filter cartridge should be replaced in order to obtain a clear printed image. Although the replacement cycle of the filter cartridge and the photoreceptor belt may be the same each other, the filter cartridge and the photoreceptor belt are separately removed from the printer and replaced by a new one respectively, thereby the replacement processes are complicated and bothersome. In order to keep an effective filtering performance and avoid the harmful affect on the developed and printed images, it is preferable that the filter cartridge and the photoreceptor belt are simultaneously replaced periodically.